BLEACH: The Second Hogyoku
by Kouzumi93
Summary: Hitsugaya and a small group are sent to the human realm to protect it during the Winter War. When Aizen and co. show up and attack, a secret is revealed that may cost Hitsugaya his life. AU; No Pairing; Might be OOC
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place right at the end of chapter 313 in the manga, so Byakuya, Unohana, Kenpachi, Mayuri, Ichigo and all of those other good guys are in Hueco Mundo beating the crap outta the Arrancar and (remaining) Espada. It is AU, which is obvious, but it also will contain some pretty significant _**SPOILERS**__**.**_

Also, for those of you who have read this previously, I would like to inform you that I have finally decided to cut Amagai out of this story. So now there are no more suck-ish, stupid, useless, worthless filler characters anymore. Yay~

If you didn't read my original version, Welcome, and I hope you'll enjoy this. If you have read this before, Welcome back, but I'd like to warn you ahead of time that there have been insane amounts of changes in this. It was full of suck before, and now there are just little bits of suck. Hey, I can't fix everything!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or else this is what would happen at some point in the manga.

BLEACH: The Second Hogyoku

By Kouzumi93

Chapter One

~Orihime's Apartment~

~December 4th~

"Nee, Taicho, it's so cold outside!" Matsumoto Rangiku whined as she rubbed her arms desperately trying to catch the fleeting, almost non-existent feeling of warmth that could supposedly come from the friction of skin on skin.

Her young superior scoffed. "That's because it's winter, idiot. It's supposed to be cold." Hitsugaya Toushiro retorted, obviously annoyed at his fukutaicho, who was wearing a short-sleeved blouse that exposed most of her chest. As always.

"Yeah, but it's still so awfully cold, even after ten bottles of sake!" Matsumoto exclaimed, holding up an empty bottle of sake, as if her captain wouldn't believe that she had downed ten of them in the last two hours.

"Bakayaro, if you would wear warmer shirts that didn't let your entire chest hang out, I don't really think you'd have much to worry about." The small captain stood from his chair and started to leave the room, as he was sure that he lost countless brain cells every time he talked to her.

All of a sudden, a blast of powerful, familiar reiatsu made itself known to the two shinigami by completely flooding all of their senses. The two top officers of the tenth division exchanged shocked expressions while simultaneously saying the same one word that brought forth so many powerful, painful memories.

"AIZEN!"

Both of their voices echoed in the small apartment, neither dominant of the other, but both were heard on their own, as they both had different emotions that were heard in that one simple word. Hitsugaya's voice was laced with anger, hatred and pain, while Matsumoto's was filled with fear, confusion and surprise.

Aizen's appearance did not bode well for anyone involved.

~With Aizen~

"Hey, Aizen-sama, it seems as if the Soul Society has sent a welcoming committee to greet us!" Ichimaru Gin announced after scanning the entire town for any traces of reiatsu. He smirked and looked through squinted eyes at the man who he loyally, and perhaps blindly, followed to see what he thought of it.

Though he should have known that Aizen's expressions were hard to read.

Aizen closed his eyes as if in thought, then opened them and looked to Gin. "Hai, it would appear that they have. Lucky for me, they have just made this trip so much easier as they let the one last thing that I need slip through their borders and straight into my waiting hands."

Aizen looked to his first, third and tenth Espada, as well as his two companions turned partners-in-crime. As if he had just decided what to do, he spoke. "Starrk, Harribel, Yammi, Gin, Kaname." The addressed looked up expectantly. "Hold all of the others off whilst I complete the preparations necessary to gain our standing at the top of the world."

"Hai, Aizen-sama!" The Espada and fallen shinigami departed, going over their previously issued orders in their heads. Everyone knew who they could and who they couldn't attack, who was Aizen's prey and who was still a part of Aizen's future plans.

Aizen had watched his followers quickly take off, and he decided that it was now time for him to make his move. He stood alone with Orihime on the sky, their clothing blending in with the fluffy, milk white clouds that hung behind them, almost like innocent bystanders in a school fight.

They see what's happening, but are unable to do a thing about it.

"You are going to come with me, Orihime." He pulled on the teen girl's wrist and took off towards her apartment, where the tenth division captain and lieutenant were currently preparing themselves for the inevitable fight that would be coming.

Orihime could do nothing but obey Aizen's every order. Her friends were still in Las Noches, Aizen's direct territory, and he could easily have them all killed should she disobey any order. It was just as Ulquiorra had told her: she was the one holding the blade of the guillotine safely above the necks of her precious friends.

She just hoped her hand's wouldn't slip.

~Jyuuni Ban Tai~

~Spiritual Wave Measurement Lab~

Tsubokura Rin was on duty again. A year ago, he would have been bored out of his mind, as nothing would ever seem to happen but now, he was more or less glad to still be there. With all of the Arrancar sightings and the massive increase of hollows, thanks to the Substitute Shinigami's insane reiatsu leaking off of his body all the time, the job was so much more interesting.

_...Except today..._Rin sighed to himself.

Nothing significant had showed up since the substitute and his friends had gone to invade Hueco Mundo, against orders, of course, to save their other friend. Although this event had just been a week earlier.

Rin leaned all the way back in his chair, propped his feet up on the computer desk in front of him, left foot over his right, and put the cherry lollipop that had been in his right hand into his mouth, savouring the sweet, albeit artificial, flavouring. He wondered how it was that they were able to put such amazing taste into such a little tiny piece of candy.

Just then, the scanner that sat directly in front of him, right next to where he had propped up his feet, began to glow and beep, indicating that it had picked up the reiatsu of a hollow or an Arrancar.

Crimson flashes were reflected in his eyes as his forgotten lollipop dropped from his hand and collided with the ground, shattering into dozens of pieces.

"Is it Arrancar?!" Someone in the room called out.

"Yes, but there's something else! Four other figures are being picked up as well. A-Ah! I-It's Aizen!" Rin jumped upward from his chair, effectively knocking it backwards and to the floor.

"Nandatou?!"

"Gentei Kaijyo eh?" Hiyosu asked.

"We've got permission."

"Where are they?"

"They are right above the Karakura shopping centre--And now they're splitting up into three groups! It appears that they are heading right for each of the members of Hitsugaya's advanced group!"

There were hushed whispers all about the room.

"Someone go and inform Yamamoto-soutaicho about this new development immediately!"

"H-Hai!"

~Ichi Ban Tai~

~Yamamoto's Office~

Yamamoto stood in his office, gazing past the balcony to the Seireitei beyond it. Everyone was training hard, honing their skills in hopes of putting this war to an end as soon as physically possible. He wondered how long it had been since there had truly been peace in the Seireitei. Whenever it had been, it now seemed so far away, and somewhat out of their grasp for now.

Even as far back as the time when Urahara Kisuke had been a captain, the peace had not been quite so real. Aizen had shattered the peace that long ago, and it didn't seem as if it could be regained until Aizen, Ichimaru and Tousen had all been killed.

Right then, Yamamoto heard hurried footsteps in the hallway, then, right after they stopped, there was a rap on his door.

"Yes?"

"Yamamoto-soutaicho-dono, I bring you an urgent message from the Spiritual Waves Measurement Lab!"

"Enter!"

The door opened quickly and in stepped one of the standard messengers. He immediately kneeled down to the head captain and proceeded to relay the information to be passed through him. "Aizen Sousuke, Ichimaru Gin, Tousen Kaname and three Espada have been detected in Karakura Town. They seem to be targeting the members of Hitsugaya-taicho's advanced group."

Yamamoto turned around to finally face the young messenger, a plan having already formed itself in his mind. "Send orders to Ukitake-taicho and Kyouraku-taicho. They are to immediately head to Karakura Town to aide the others who are already there."

"Hai, Yamamoto-soutaicho-dono. Is there anything else?" The messenger asked timidly.

"No. Go post-haste."

"Hai." The messenger was gone in a flash, using shunpo to quickly inform the highly respected captains of eighth and thirteenth division of their terribly important duty.

Yamamoto prayed that the captains would make it in time.

~Jyuusan ban Tai~

~Ukitake's Office~

Ukitake and Kyouraku had been playing a game of chess against one another when the messenger arrived at the door.

"Excuse me, are Kyouraku-taicho and Ukitake-taicho present?" The same messenger who had just been office called through the shoji doors that cut him off from the two captains.

"Yes we are. Open the door." Ukitake ordered.

The young man opened the door and spoke quickly, knowing that there was no time to spare. "Aizen Sousuke, along with seven of his followers, have been spotted in Karakura Town. Yamamoto-soutaicho-dono has given the order that the both of you are to go to the human world and help those who are already there."

"Nani? Aizen has made an appearance already?" Ukitake exclaimed.

The unnamed man nodded. "Hai."

"But it's too soon!"

"Well, I guess that just means that we should get going now, Ukitake. Sounds like they're really going to need our help out there." Kyouraku stood from the now mildly warm mat on the floor.

"I suppose we should." Ukitake then agreed as he followed suit in standing. He turned back to the messenger who was still at the door. "Is the Senkaimon prepared for our departure?"

"Yes. It should be open by now."

"Arigatou. You may leave now."

"Hai." The messenger was gone as quickly as he had come.

"This is getting quite complicated, isn't it?" Kyouraku asked his old friend as they prepared themselves to leave the barracks.

"Yes, I believe it is. Let's get going."

~Orihime's Apartment~

As soon as Aizen's reiatsu registered in Hitsugaya and Matsumoto's minds, they popped a gikongan into their mouths and ditched their gigais. They ordered their false bodies to get as far away from the apartment as possible, as they could likely get caught up in the crossfire of the fights.

Both shinigami then leapt up upon the top of the building, not having any desire at all to bloody or destroy the inside of it, due to the fact that it wasn't theirs to destroy in the first place. Not to mention that they'd have to pay for any and all repairs.

It was right then that Ichimaru appeared, zanpakuto drawn and ready to strike. One would have expected him to lunge at Hitsugaya, but he changed course and went for Matsumoto instead. She had already drawn Haineko, and she managed to catch Ichimaru's attack with it. With all of the force behind the attack, both were launched into the side of a nearby building, effectively crashing through the walls.

Hitsugaya turned to where Matsumoto had just been, then traced a path with his eyes to a building that now had a rather large, gaping, smoking hole in the side of it. He just began to make a motion forward when a hand clamped itself down upon his shoulder.

He lunged himself out from under the person's grasp and saw the last person that he had wanted to see, although his presence in Karakura Town was already burned into his own brain.

"Hello, Hitsugaya-kun." Aizen's fake smile probably could have fooled anyone, except those who had known him and knew about his betrayal. That smile was that of a sadistic traitor who lived only to trick people and kill those that he pretended he cared about.

_It makes me sick._ Hitsugaya thought as the temperature dropped a few degrees.

~Kiego's Apartment Building~

Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika had been waiting. As soon as they had been assigned back to Karakura Town, they had just been itching for a chance to get to fight some strong hollows or some Arrancar, but this opportunity appealed even more to them. An Espada, possibly one of the strongest ones, was standing right in front of the two shinigami from the eleventh division.

There was a very young, blonde girl standing next to the Espada, likely his Fraccion. This made this particular battle even better for both Ikkaku and Yumichika, as they would both be able to have their own opponents to fight. Neither one of them would have to sit this one out this time.

Just as the Arrancar appeared to them, the two shinigami had silently agreed that Starrk was for Ikkaku, as the difference in power between Ikkaku and Yumichika was just as obvious as the one between the Espada and Fraccion. Of course, Ikkaku's unspoken dibs landed the black haired narcissist a spot against Lilynette, although he was rather disappointed with the line-up.

Ikkaku had decided that he would go with shikai right from the start, only planning to use his bankai if absolutely necessary, but all of the other shinigami also had to be completely preoccupied. He couldn't let the word get out to everyone in the Seireitei about that Bankai of his. He would end up being followed by fools, begging him to become a captain.

That just wouldn't do.

Yumichika had figured that since his opponent was a little girl, he would hardly have to fight at full strength, let alone release his zanpakuto. She couldn't really be all that strong, especially because she was only a Fraccion. Well, unless her strength was compressed into a more compact form, much like Yachiru's was.

And if this girl was anything like Yachiru, Yumichika figured that he might as well fight her like a normal enemy. Little kids were never to be underestimated, as they were usually the ones who contained the most power of all.

~Urahara Shouten~

Kira stared at the dark-skinned woman in front of him. The clothing that she wore was lacking fabric all around the bottom of her chest, as one could see quite a bit of her large breasts. Kira forced himself to focus on her face, not eager to let his eyes drift, as he drew Wabisuke from its sheath at his waist.

Harribel placed one finger through a hole in the hand guard of her zanpakuto as if she was going to draw it, but she then let her hand drop back to her side, as if deciding that she wasn't going to need it for this fight. Kira figured that she felt that he wasn't worth the effort.

And yeah, she was probably right.

_I don't think that I'm going to stand much of a chance against her. Her insane reiatsu probably indicates that she's an Espada, and a powerful one at that. _Kira thought to himself, slightly depressed at his own bad luck. _But I guess it can't really hurt to try._

Kira prepared to release his zanpakuto. _Well, it could but..._

"Omote wo Agero, Wabisuke!" Wabisuke's power took over the katana, bending it into its executioner style blade.

* * *

Hisagi felt small in comparison to the Arrancar he was fighting. Yammi was much taller and bigger than he was, but Hisagi didn't really see that as much of a problem. Bigger wasn't always better, and the bigger they were, the harder they would fall.

Although the Arrancar was so big, he didn't seem to be very powerful, and his intelligence seemed low as well. He was either a regular Arrancar or a very low level Espada. The latter was much more likely, as Aizen himself had made an appearance, and he would probably have nothing but Espada to use as his own personal shields.

Even though he was finally getting a chance to fight an Arrancar, he was disappointed that he couldn't, or even help to fight Tousen, who Urahara was facing instead. _If this Arrancar Yammi wasn't here, I would have a chance to fight Tousen-taicho. Maybe then I could bring him back to the Soul Society and open his eyes for him._

It was decided. Hisagi was going to kill Yammi in order to get that chance. Fighting all out was his only option, and failure was far from his mind. It was now or never.

"Kare, Kazeshini."

* * *

Urahara wasn't sure that fighting Tousen was such a good idea. He had a feeling that this invasion had similar intentions to the one used as a cover up for Inoue-san's kidnapping. Although if Aizen had come, this one would have much more dire consequences than before.

There was something else tugging at him, something that made him worry beyond all reason. What would Aizen need so bad that he would bring his very best along with him? Urahara could think of only one thing that would make Aizen do this on his own, rather than sending one of his henchmen to do for him.

That one item could spell the end for the Soul Society.

Tousen swung Suzumushi down at the musing Urahara, landing a shallow hit on his left shoulder. Blood seeped through Urahara's clothing, permanently dying the fabric with its crimson colour.

Urahara looked down at the fresh wound and his thoughts turned even darker than before. _If they are already this strong, getting that item will make it damn near impossible to beat them in the true battle._

And boy was he right.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Hogyoku** - Breakdown Sphere; Gives the powers of a soul reaper to a hollow

**Nee** - Hey

**Taicho** - Captain

**Fukutaicho** - Lieutenant

**Sake** - Alcohol

**Bakayaro** - Idiot

**Reiatsu** - Spiritual Pressure

**Shinigami** - Soul Reaper

**Hai** - Yes [sir/ma'am]

**Las Noches **- Aizen's Palace

**Jyuuni Ban Tai **- Twelfth Division

**Arrancar** - A hollow with Shinigami powers

**Hueco Mundo **- The dimension where hollows live

**Nandatou** - What did you say

**Gentei Kaijyo eh **- Limit releaser status

**Soutaicho** - Head Captain

**Ichi Ban Tai **- First Division

**Seireitei** - The place where the Shinigami live

**Shunpo** - Flash Step

**Jyuusan Ban Tai **- Thirteenth Division

**Nani** - What

**Senkaimon** - World Gate

**Arigatou** - Thank You

**Gikongan** - False Soul

**Gigai** - False Body

**Zanpakuto** - A Shinigami or Arrancar's sword

**Fraccion** - An Arrancar that serves an Espada

**Shikai** - First release of a shinigami's zanpakuto

**Bankai** - Second/Final release of a shinigami's zanpakuto

**Shouten** - Store/Shop

**Omote wo Agero **- Raise your head [Wabisuke]

**Kare** - Reap [Kazeshini]

Was that enough of an attention getter for everyone? I tried my best in the revisions, and this ended up coming out much longer than my first version, so I hope that the length pleases everyone as well. Some chapters will be longer than this, that's a promise, but this is enough for a first chapter, I suppose.

I'm currently trying to fix up the fight scenes in the next two chapters, as well as cutting out Amagai's fight and switching it with Hisagi's fight, so I'm not sure I'm looking too forward to doing that. The main reason I tossed Hisagi in here was because I discovered that I seem to have a lack of him anywhere. Plus, he didn't seem to be doing anything, and as much as I wanted to put Soifon in, I don't like writing Oomaeda parts, so they were out as soon as they popped in.

Anyway, review, please!


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, it's been so long since I put up that first chapter~! This was intended to be up a while ago, but schoolwork piled up and, despite revisions _during_ school, I always ran into little problems here and there. Also, this chapter was a little difficult for me, personally, to rewrite, as the whole chapter is pretty much battles, which are not my forte.

So yeah, it was a little difficult. But I think I've worked out a solid, plot-hole-less storyline. Now, sticking _**to**_ that storyline will be my biggest problem...ha ha! But enjoy this! Please! (And review it at the end~)

Disclaimer: I really don't own Bleach. Really. Believe me.

BLEACH: The Second Hogyoku

By Kouzumi93

Chapter Two

~Orihime's Apartment~

Upon seeing Aizen as his opponent, Hitsugaya's right hand instinctively reached up for Hyourinmaru's hilt, yanking it from its sheath secured on his back. Just like when he had faced Aizen back in the Soul Society, he was going to use Bankai right away, but he knew that he could not afford to be blinded by his rage this time.

Kyouka Suigetsu, on the other hand...He couldn't guarantee that wouldn't come into play.

"Ban--!"

Before he could finish releasing the powerful, final stage of his zanpakuto, Hitsugaya's eyes widened and his grip loosened on Hyourinmaru. It slipped from his hand and clattered loudly to the ground next to it's young wielder.

Then Hitsugaya too collapsed to the ground, an intense pain searing throughout his chest. He began to cough violently, blood spilling from his mouth and onto the floor below him, forever staining it with his presence.

_What the hell is happening to me?_

Aizen let a sadistic smile creep onto his lips as he watched the boy who was in pain. Watched him suffer, enjoying every minute of it. His smile broadened when Hitsugaya began to cough up blood as well.

_This is all going according to plan. No, this is even better than my initial plan._

Orihime was shocked. She had expected Aizen to do something, anything at all, but, as far as she could tell, he hadn't even moved. That meant that what was happening to Hitsugaya was something internal.

"T-Toushiro-kun!" She made an effort to run to him, but was stopped short by an arm clad in white fabric. She looked at Aizen for an answer, but only saw him smiling at the sight of a broken Hitsugaya. Her stomach churned. "Aizen...sama?" She called, reluctantly adding the 'sama' suffix to his name.

"Just watch. You will understand soon enough." He replied.

Orihime was torn, her thoughts flustered and frustrated. _But-! I...I need to help him! Let me go! Please! Aizen! He's going to die!_

Her thought were just that, and Aizen never heard them, nor did he probably care. Orihime watched as he reached into a hidden pocket in his robes, producing from it a small glass cube containing an even smaller dark purple sphere. She instantly knew what it was and she feared that Aizen was going to use it on her young friend.

Aizen advanced a few small steps towards Hitsugaya, all the while the wicked grin plastered onto his face increased its volume, now to the point that it was nearly ear to ear. His grin that told anyone that he knew he was winning.

Hitsugaya looked up to the object that Aizen held. Just as Orihime recognized it right away, so did he. And that in itself put a small pang of fear into him. "The-The Hogyoku!" He managed to spurt out before his coughing intensified. The fiery pain in his chest was worsening as well, all because Aizen had moved in closer and the Hogyoku had come into his direct line of sight.

He could only figure that both his pain and suffering had something to do with either Aizen or the Hogyoku, but Hitsugaya had to wonder. _How could that possibly be?_

**~Elsewhere~**

Ichimaru had, so far, been successful in keeping Matsumoto from getting involved in Aizen's plans. After crashing the both of them into a building, he had pushed her further and further away from her captain without her even realizing what he was doing. That is, until Hitsugaya's reiatsu began to fluctuate.

Matsumoto had turned towards Orihime's apartment when she sensed it. _Taicho!_ She made a motion to start going back, but she should have known that it wasn't going to be that easy to escape a battle where Ichimaru was her opponent.

She could see that Ichimaru had no intentions of letting her get past, but she didn't care. Everyone else was too busy to go and help and she was the closest anyway. She couldn't let her captain down just because of Ichimaru's petty intentions.

"Unare, Haineko!" She yelled, forcing her blade to dissolve into a dark gray cloud that she directed towards Ichimaru. The cloud surrounded him, thickening to the point where he could hardly see past it. The cloud managed to touch Ichimaru's forehead and shoulder, cutting them as Matsumoto flicked Haineko's hilt in a downwards motion.

Just as she moved the hilt, Ichimaru made his move, knowing that she was temporarily defenceless. "Ikorose, Shinsou." Ichimaru's zanpakuto shot out at Matsumoto's vulnerable form too fast for her to completely avoid. It snagged her lower right forearm as she jumped out of the way. She winced in pain but didn't wait for it to subside before drawing Haineko back to her.

Ichimaru retracted Shinsou while plotting his next move. He couldn't allow Matsumoto to get back to Orihime's apartment building until they were done with their mission, but that was looking to be more difficult than previously expected. Matsumoto was becoming more desperate so as to get over there in time, but at the same time, her attacks were becoming stronger with the effort to defeat him.

_Sorry, Ran-chan. You're not allowed through yet. Stop making me hurt you. It hurts me just as much as it does you._ Ichimaru thought as he moved ever closer to her. He could see how frantic she was and it looked almost like she was going to cry, too. Ichimaru nearly felt bad for everything that he had done to contribute to this situation, but decided that it wasn't worth it.

Regret would only make things that much harder for him to deal with.

Before Matsumoto could call out her shikai again, Ichimaru called on his own, aiming it right at her heart. Matsumoto brought Haineko to block it, but there was only so much it could handle. Matsumoto skidded across the skies of Karakura Town, only coming to a stop when Shinsou no longer moved.

That was when she realized how close she was to her captain. Ichimaru had actually advanced her, almost as if helping her, although that was not the case. As he began to withdraw Shinsou, Matsumoto turned and ran as fast as she could to where she could see Orihime's apartment. On the roof where she had been forcibly separated from her captain, she could just barely make out three figures.

One was lying on the ground, one was standing still not far away and the last was halfway between the two, moving closely towards the former. As she got a little bit closer, the rough silhouettes evolved into definite, recognizable forms. Orihime was standing alone, Aizen was walking and Hitsugaya was on the ground, seemingly unmoving.

_Taicho!_

"Ikorose, Shinsou." Matsumoto heard Ichimaru say from not too far behind her. She had been so engrossed in Orihime's roof and those three on it that she hadn't even noticed that Ichimaru was following after her. She spun around only to be met by an advancing zanpakuto.

_Ku...so..._Matsumoto thought as she was hit in the stomach, the world around her fading away into darkness.

**~Urahara Shouten~**

Kira was dispelled through the air as he was knocked back from one of Harribel's attacks. He had been more than right in assuming that she was strong, but never in his wildest dreams would he have thought her to be like this. His attacks could hardly reach her and when they did, he was the one who ended up taking more of the damage.

Even after Harribel had blocked Wabisuke with her bare hands at least five times, she didn't seem to be fazed by it even a little bit. Kira was rather scared for his life then. With such a powerful foe facing only him, how in the world was he supposed to win?

_Although,_ Kira realized, _the Soul Society should have sensed this battle by now, so help should be on its way by now. All I have to do is keep this Espada entertained until someone else comes along to my aide. Entertained meaning busy enough so that she doesn't go off to kill humans._

Kira just had to stay alive and able to fight.

_Che, that's not as easy as it sounds. She looks like she's getting bored already, so she might end up trying to finish me off any time now. Quick, what can I do to stop her?_ Kira asked no one in particular, so he wasn't really expecting an answer.

_**Try dodging. **_Wabisuke told him, causing Kira to snap back to reality.

"Ah!" Kira jumped to the side as a cero tore past him and engulfed a small house behind him. The home went up in flames instantaneously, dark smoke billowing out of what was left. Kira heard a child scream for help from within. The child was likely trapped in one of the rooms, surrounded by fire and bound by fear. No one else seemed to be around, either.

_Shit!_

Without really thinking his actions through, Kira dove down to the flaming building, all his thoughts focused only on saving that child. The lives of the souls were much more important than the lives of the shinigami who saved them. Shinigami existed to save the souls and keep balance, not to let the souls die and chaos to overthrow everything.

As he entered the building, he could hear the child's yells more clearly and he moved carefully towards their location, as the floors had been weakened with the force of the cero and could collapse at any given moment. Just as that thought occurred to him, they began to do just that. He turned around to see the floor behind him starting to give in to the heat and flames as easily as one who was exhausted would give in to their much needed sleep.

_I guess there's no turning back now, then._ The child's screams were closer now. _Not that I was planning to._ Kira listened harder and determined that they were coming from a room somewhere to his right. The closest door on that side was just in front of him, so he kicked the door down, hoping that it would be the right door that he needed.

In the room he entered, he saw a small dark haired girl cowering in the far corner, her tear streaked face turned to the door, shocked that it had come down like that. Kira knew at once that she couldn't see him.

He moved in closer as quickly as the flame engulfed house would allow, lucky that the flames had not yet managed to completely snag this room. He picked up the young girl of only four and prepared to jump out the window, as it was likely the only reliable exit by this time. Through the window, he saw the one thing he had neglected in the past few minutes.

Harribel.

"Cero."

* * *

Hisagi yanked Kazeshini from the upper portion of Yammi's arm where it had lodged itself only a moment earlier. He had intended for the blade to slice off Yammi's head, but Kazeshini was rather difficult to wield, not to mention Yammi had moved a bit, so the zanpakuto had missed the mark slightly.

Yammi was rather upset at the fact that he had been put up against a weak ass lieutenant. He wanted nothing more than to kill that man fighting Tousen, but he had been told that Tousen was to fight the man for reasons that remained a mystery to Yammi. Although, this lieutenant could at least serve the use of petty entertainment.

_Aizen-sama should be finished soon. I'm not supposed to kill this kid yet, but if this gets delayed for too much longer, I just might kill him anyway._ Yammi thought as he blocked another attack from Kazeshini, despite its ever changing course and speed.

Hisagi looked at Yammi whilst twirling Kazeshini's chain in his hand. Yammi appeared to be plotting his next set of moves, so Hisagi, too, began to create a well thought out plan to bring the giant obstacle in his way down as hard and fast as possible.

Just as those thoughts occurred to him, he heard an explosion not too far to his left. He turned and saw the woman Arrancar that Kira had been fighting just a few moments ago. She was merely standing on the sky, staring down at a burning building.

_Kira!_ Hisagi nearly yelled out loud when he realized that he could not see the third division lieutenant anywhere. The only explanation to his whereabouts was that he was in that building and that the woman had caused him to be there.

Harribel began to advance to the building, likely readying a cero to collapse what was left of the structure and finish Kira off completely. Her facial expression gave nothing away, as it was unusually calm, almost as if she was apathetic about killing the shinigami.

Or she had killed so many, one more wouldn't matter.

Soon, she was within fifty feet of the small home that was just about to meet its end. Hisagi managed to get a quick glance inside through one of the second floor windows. There he saw Kira holding what appeared to be a small child. Kira wouldn't be able to fight like that.

Harribel was releasing a cero. Hisagi knew that he had to act fast, as Kira probably couldn't even defend himself in this sort of situation, being so hung up in helping that child get out of the building safely. For Kira to be successful in that, Hisagi would have to step in for an instant.

"Cero."

As soon as she released the powerful attack, Hisagi used shunpo to get in front of it, tossing Kazeshini into the middle of it, splitting it in two. Kira looked shocked by Hisagi's sudden appearance, but Harribel's expression showed no change whatsoever.

She seemed to be a rather formidable enemy, but Hisagi's fight was not with her. Kira emerged from the building below, set the young girl on the side of the street and jumped back to the sky to join Hisagi.

Hisagi had an idea and turned to the blond. "Shall we switch opponents if you're having so much trouble here, Kira?" He asked. Although Hisagi felt that he himself could have easily defeated Yammi in just a short while, Kira was not as strong as he was. If he gave Kira the weaker enemy, he would lessen his chance of death.

"Maybe we should. I think you would do much better against this woman than I could hope to anyway. Close-ranged attacks are only good against enemies who also fight at close range." Kira added as he began towards his new opponent.

"Yeah."

* * *

Having finally come out of his deep thoughts, Urahara was paying enough attention to keep Tousen at bay. Tousen wasn't that much of a formidable opponent for Urahara, but should Aizen's mission be completed, Tousen could end up way more dangerous than the Soul Society would need.

Luckily for Urahara, Tousen didn't seem to see the need to use his bankai, therefore was only fighting with his shikai. _For a guy who is so much for Justice and against bloodshed, he sure likes to fight a lot._ Urahara thought bitterly as he sent an attack from Benihime through one from Suzumushi.

Despite the battle being ex-captain versus ex-captain, it was somewhat slower paced than the other battles in the town. Both knew that Aizen could be finished at any given moment, so neither wanted to get overly involved with the other should Aizen use a hasty retreat.

As they continued to fight, more worries made their way into Urahara's thoughts. The item he figured Aizen was after had been sealed away in a book and then buried within the training area hidden beneath Sokyoku Hill. The night that he, Yoruichi, Tessai and the Vaizards had left the Soul Society, Urahara dug a hole and buried the object in hopes that it would never get the chance to resurface and cause more havoc.

_If Aizen had found it, why would it be here in Karakura Town? I would think that he would have kept it with him at all times so as not to lose it or have someone else find it._ Urahara brought Benihime down into Tousen's right shoulder. He lifted the blade again, the sun gleaming off the flawless steel, readying himself to bring it back down, hopefully ending Tousen's life.

Or at least rendering him unable to fight.

All of a sudden, Urahara felt a vaguely familiar, wavering reiatsu on the other side of the town. He focused on it for a moment before determining that it belonged to the tenth division captain. With a bit more concentration, Urahara realized that Aizen was in the same place as the youth, probably up to no good.

That made something click in Urahara's mind. _So that's it. I understand it now. Aizen must have..._

Urahara's thoughts were again interrupted as Tousen turned the tables on him, slicing his blade through the air sideways in hopes of relieving Urahara of his head. Urahara barely managed to dodge most of the deadly attack. He saved his head, but his striped hat had met a terrible fate. The left portion of it had been cut off, leaving Urahara's blond hair exposed. He then took off the remains of the hat and tossed them into the wind.

"And that was one of my last hats. I suppose I'll have to go out and buy more soon." Urahara asked the blind man. "I look much better in a hat. Wouldn't you agree?" He was fully aware that the man was blind, but that made everything all the more interesting.

"I do not care. Besides, you will have no need for pathetic hats when you have no head to wear them upon, will you?" Tousen retorted, making another slash at the blond man's neck.

"That would mean you would have to get it off of me first, wouldn't it? You're not doing a very good job so far, you know."

"Touché."

Their fight continued for a while longer, yet neither ex-captain could manage to become the obvious winner. They seemed to be completely evenly matched, but should either one release his bankai, the battle would most definitely be decided in his favour. Not to mention that the whole town would be in danger if the two fought each other with his own bankai.

Although, that could quite possibly be rather fun.

* * *

Yoruichi watched the struggling shinigami fight from inside the Urahara Shouten. Urahara had told her to wait and watch from there, but Yoruichi was tempted to just go out and fight. The shinigami were having trouble and Yoruichi figured that if this was to last too much longer, their own side was going to suffer some major losses.

She glanced to her left and saw that Ururu and Jinta were watching the battles with fear in their eyes at the immense strength of the Arrancars. Their participation in the battles was over. They used to be able to help out and cut down lesser hollows, but they wouldn't dare think of taking on these opponents now.

They would be killed instantaneously.

To Yoruichi's right, Tessai was preparing places for everyone to rest after the battles. Everyone would likely be injured, exhausted and would probably gather in the shop to regroup and discuss what just happened. Tessai was making sure that they would be able to do just that.

Just then, Yoruichi sensed a Senkaimon opening up behind her. She turned to see Ukitake and Kyouraku emerging from it, looking rather rushed. Yoruichi figured that they had run the whole way to get there as quickly as possible.

"Yoruichi, is everyone alright?" Ukitake asked hurriedly as the gate closed behind him.

"I'm not sure. The only battles I've been witnessing are the three right here in front of me, but it feels as if Ikkaku and Hitsugaya might be having some difficulties." Yoruichi said, her face going solemn. "Ikkaku's opponent feels strong and Aizen is in Hitsugaya's location. Hitsugaya's reiatsu was fluctuating wildly a moment ago, but it seems to have calmed now."

"I'll go to Madarame's aide. You should go help Hitsugaya-taicho. Aizen is too strong for him." Kyouraku added as the two captains left the Urahara Shouten behind. "We can't have the prodigy die so young, now can we?"

"No. Let's go."

"Yeah. Good luck."

"You too, Kyouraku."

**~Keigo's Apartment~**

Yumichika was out of Ikkaku's line of sight, the apartment building was between them, but Yumichika didn't really see a need to use even the modified release of his zanpakuto. His opponent was aggressive, but she was weak and rash with her attacks, so Yumichika was settling for just fending her off for the moment.

Although Yumichika wasn't opposed to children fighting in the war, he was highly opposed to ugly, young, half naked girls fighting against him. He who was, in his own opinion, the most beautiful thing that had ever lived! And this girl had the nerve to try to fight him!

_I finally get a chance to fight and I end up getting stuck with some snot-nosed brat?! For once, I wanted to fight someone strong and beautiful...very much like myself, but they would never be able to exceed my beauty._

Yumichika had been even more disgusted with the girl when she had pulled her zanpakuto out of the mask on her head. He had only ever seen zanpakuto worn at the waist, across the back or carried around, so that had been an unexpected, unpleasant surprise. _Although,_ he thought, _If she had kept that zanpakuto anywhere else, that would be even more ugly._

_If that is even possible to achieve._

After the child had revealed her sword, Yumichika officially decided that he was just going to finish the fight. Prolonging this girl's death was far from the right thing to do in battle, so if he finished her off, he wouldn't get any grief later on. Thus, his zanpakuto was finally going to get its chance to shine.

If only for an instant and far from its true power.

"Sake, Fujikujaku."

The dark haired shinigami's zanpakuto curved and split into four separate segments. All Yumichika would have to do now was hit the girl once to gobble up her reiatsu, then stab her in the head to kill her. She wouldn't be getting up after that.

As easy as that sounded, it was much harder than he thought it would be. Lilynette was using her lightning-fast reflexes to dodge every single one of Yumichika's slashes. He began to wonder when she was planning to perform a Resureccion so he could fight her at her full strength.

The way this was going, she was probably going to end up releasing soon. _Maybe her release is something that will make her more beautiful and I can enjoy fighting her until I've killed her. Then I won't have to worry about her ugliness rubbing off on me!_

At that moment, Yumichika heard something crash into the other side of the apartment building behind him. He shunpoed to the other side to see Ikkaku flattened into a crater on the side wall of the complex. Ikkaku's opponent, Starrk, was standing nearby, looking as if he really didn't care to be there.

"Ikkaku!" Yumichika yelled, but made no move to help his fallen friend. Only if Ikkaku died would Yumichika be able to fight Starrk, as it was still Ikkaku's fight until his death.

Ikkaku opened his eyes a bit, then fully as he peeled himself from the side of Keigo's apartment. He was sure that everyone inside was terrified and that many of the rooms had been damaged, but that wasn't much of a concern. Damage payment would not have to come from his wallet, as everything would probably be paid for by the mission funds and the building would be fixed within the next few days.

He looked up at Starrk, debating whether or not the Espada was worth exposing his bankai. He couldn't confirm that everyone else was held up tightly in a battle, making it possible that word of his bankai would leak out to all of the other shinigami.

Starrk walked closer to Ikkaku, not yet ready to kill him, despite knowing that he was supposed to do so. _Why must I kill him? It seems unfair to kill someone who could never stand a chance in hell of defeating me, or even coming close to it! While this man does seem determined, he could never even think of my defeat._

That was when Starrk sensed two new volumes of reiatsu enter the vicinity of Karakura Town. They seemed to be exceedingly strong, but Starrk doubted that either one of them would make their way to where he was, as there were plenty of strong enemies around where they had appeared.

Both of the presences disappeared, leaving Starrk to figure that he was right. He continued he advancement towards his bald foe, contemplating the best way to kill the battle lover. A powerful cero could do the trick, but so could a well placed slash across the man's chest.

Starrk's eyes darted to Yumichika, who stood watching with a worried, yet solemn expression on his face. It looked like he had no intentions of stepping in any time soon, which would mean that the battle would stay as Starrk's and Ikkaku's.

Starrk decided that the cero would be the best way to end the fight. It would be instantaneous and Ikkaku would probably feel no pain, nor have any time for regrets. While Starrk might regret killing the shinigami for a little while, he figured that he would get over it eventually as he killed more shinigami and the faces blurred so he couldn't distinguish one from another.

"Cero."

Ikkaku prepared himself for the attack, not quite sure how he was going to stop it and not ready for it to hit him or the apartment. Luckily for him, he was not required to make that decision on his own as multi-coloured object tossed itself in the line of fire, decimating the cero.

"Looks like I made it just in time." It said.

As the dust cleared, Ikkaku got a good look at the man who had saved his life, instantly recognising him. "K-Kyouraku-taicho?!"

* * *

**Translations:**

**Unare** - Roar [Haineko]

**Ikorose** - Shoot to kill [Shinsou]

**Kuso** - Can mean Damn, shit, fuck, etc. Take your pick.

**Cero** - 'Doom blast' An attack used by hollows and Arrancars

**Vaizards** - Shinigami who gain the powers of a hollow

**Sake** - Bloom [Fujikujaku]

**Resureccion** - The official name for an Arrancar's release

It's finally done~! A small plot bunny slipped into this by accident, but I think I made it work alright in the end. But that's what helped me take so long to finish this. For a whole week, I was stuck in the same place right in the middle of Hisagi's fight. I finally figured it out and wrote a whole page and a half in one school day.

So that's how this got done~!

Now here's your part: Review~!

Also, on a small note, if you feel that I'm taking too long with an update, check my profile for updates or my deviantArt journal. The latter is more reliable, as I tend to update there more often. To get to my dA account, go to my profile. It's on there somewhere.


	3. Chapter 3

So again, it's been a long month of a wait, but I've really been working hard on fixing these old things up. I have high hopes that once I get to the part where the storyline diverts from the previous version, update speed will increase a little, as everything will be all knew and from scratch.

But knowing me, that's going to slow me down...

Oh! And in case you have not figured this out yet (I realized that I've been neglecting to add it.):

"Talking" _Thoughts/Flashbacks_ _'Hell Butterflies' __**Zanpakuto**_ (Not all are in this chapter, but I'm trying to cover anything that will come up in the future.)

Disclaimer: I still do not own Bleach. I am currently in the process of buying it (not really).

Bleach: The Second Hogyoku

By Kouzumi93

Chapter Three

~Orihime's Apartment~

"The Hogyoku!"

"Yes, Hitsugaya-kun. But fear not, I have no intentions of using it on you at all. Actually, you have something of mine that I would really like back." Aizen added as he stopped about a foot away from Hitsugaya.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The captain asked angrily, trying, to no avail, to push himself to his feet to get away from Aizen.

"Oh, that's right. I suppose you wouldn't know what exactly it is that I'm referring to. You were probably too young to remember." Aizen paused. "Shall I enlighten you?" he received a glare in response. "I'll take that as a yes.

"You see, about a century ago, Urahara Kisuke was exiled from the Soul Society. I'm sure that by now, you have been informed that the Hogyoku was sealed within Kuchiki Rukia's soul, but that is not entirely true. Only _half_ of it was sealed within her soul. The other half had a strong barrier placed around it and was buried within the Sokyoku Hill."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I am the one who found it. Removing the barrier would have been easy, but the reiatsu it probably would have given off would likely have given me away, so I did the same thing that I later found out Urahara did. I sealed it within a soul."

Realization hit Hitsugaya like a rock. One hundred years ago, he had still only been a baby, so Aizen could have done anything to him and he never would have known. "You bastard!" He snarled.

"Why would you have chosen Hitsugaya-taicho's soul?" Someone asked.

Hitsugaya was surprised to see Ukitake standing behind Aizen and in front of Inoue Orihime. Aizen didn't seem to be as surprised, almost as if he had know that the thirteenth division captain was going to be there.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to get here, Ukitake-taicho." Aizen grinned wickedly. "I chose Hitsugaya-kun's soul for many different reasons. I needed a soul that would be able to withstand the pressure of having such a powerful item inside of them. Also, the konpaku would need to have decent reiatsu so as to become a shinigami so I could have better access to it when I needed it. I could tell that Hitsugaya-kun was going to have above average reiatsu, so he was the ideal choice."

"What if he had been killed? What would you have done then?" Ukitake asked, trying to buy himself some time to think of a plan. He couldn't fight Aizen by himself, but if he kept stalling, more captains might get sent in for aide.

"That was never a concern for me. The first district of Rukongai is the safest district to live in, and I knew that when he did manage to become a shinigami, his power would be enough to keep him alive." Aizen knew what Ukitake was up to, but he was feigning ignorance. "Well, I really should be going now, so if you'll just give me what I'm looking for, you might not have to die."

Aizen held the Hogyoku right in front of Hitsugaya's chest. A light blue aura surrounded the boy and, to Ukitake and Orihime's sheer horror, something from inside his chest tore itself out. It left a wound in his flesh that was frightfully similar to a hollow's hole and it gushed blood profusely.

The item merged with the Hogyoku in Aizen's hands as Hitsugaya's limp body collapsed to the ground. Blood pooled under his unconscious form and Ukitake took a step forward while Aizen turned around to face the older man. He still held the Hogyoku in his hand, though it seemed to glow a different colour than before.

Orihime finally spoke up. "It...it still looks the same."

"Of course. It was not divided in the physical sense, they were split spiritually. Both remained in a sphere-like state while having near opposite abilities. The one obtained from Kuchiki Rukia allowed me to give the powers of a shinigami to a hollow. The second half," Aizen took a glance back at Hitsugaya, "gives a shinigami the powers of a hollow."

"No way! That means--!" Ukitake shouted.

Aizen only smirked. He then used shunpo to get around Ukitake to Orihime just as they were enveloped by a Negaccion coming from the sky. "We'll see you soon, Ukitake." Aizen added only moments before he disappeared from Karakura Town the same way he had from the Seireitei only four months earlier.

Ukitake wasted no time. He removed his own haori and wrapped it around Hitsugaya's small body, picking him up in the process. His top priority now was to keep the young captain alive long enough to make it to the Urahara Shouten to get treatment.

"Hang on, Hitsugaya-taicho. It won't be too much longer now."

~Elsewhere~

Matsumoto was in pain; so much pain that words couldn't really explain it to its full extent. She had been hurt severely both mentally and physically in such a short amount of time that she was sure her body was going to give out on her soon.

_I just can't take it anymore. Taicho, are you alright? I haven't been able to detect your reiatsu for some time now. I think I felt Ukitake-taicho's reiatsu near yours, so does that mean that he reached you in time? Taicho...please be alright._

Just as Matsumoto's vision began to go dark, she sensed the presence of someone above her. Her vision was blurred to the point that she couldn't see what the person looked like, but she could see the colours of the clothing. _Momoiro, kuro, shiro..._

"Matsumoto-san, can you hear me?" The person asked. Matsumoto recognized the voice.

"Kyouraku-taicho?"

"Yokata. You're going to be alright, Matsumoto-san. We'll take you to the Urahara Shouten to get healed up." Kyouraku said as he picked her up from the ground.

"We?" Matsumoto asked weakly.

"Madarame-kun and Ayasegawa-kun are here as well." Said shinigami grunted as if to prove the statement true. Matsumoto turned her head slightly toward them and noticed that Ikkaku seemed to be leaning on Yumichika for support. _He must have had a rough battle._

"Taicho...is Hitsugaya-taicho alright?"

Kyouraku was silent for a moment. "I'm sure he's just fine. Don't worry too much."

"Yeah. Taicho...will be fine..." Matsumoto muttered as unconsciousness finally kicked in and blackness claimed her vision and mind.

Kyouraku used this instance to survey the lieutenants wounds. Her right shoulder had been pierced front to back, similar to the other wound in the middle of her abdomen. Both looked to be extremely painful and the combined pain from them as well as smaller cuts and bruises, not to mention all of the mental stress she must have been experiencing, was plenty enough to have made her pass out. In fact, it was a wonder that she had been able to remain conscious for as long as she did.

As Kyouraku and the two members of eleventh division made their way across the town via the sky, Yumichika continued to support Ikkaku and Kyouraku kept his grip firm on Matsumoto. In a few mere minutes, they were only seven blocks from the Urahara Shouten. From that distance, Kyouraku was able to sense that Ukitake's reiatsu was somewhere within the building.

At three blocks, Hitsugaya's reiatsu became noticeable, albeit only if you were really trying to find it. Kyouraku could only guess that the kid had been injured pretty badly as his reiatsu level was never that low unless he was trying to hide it. He looked down at the woman in his arms. _I'm glad that Matsumoto-san is not awake right now. I think her motherly instincts would take over and she would be more worried about Hitsugaya-taicho than herself._

A moment later, the shinigami entered the Urahara Shouten and were surprised at the state of everyone inside. Kira and Hisagi looked to be in pretty bad shape. While Urahara was injured, he didn't seem to be doing as bad as the two lieutenants, who were covered from head to toe with cuts, bruises and various other injuries. The only one not injured in the room was Ukitake, though he was devoid of his haori.

Tessai appeared to be in one of the back rooms, as a door could be seen slightly open, a green aura emanating from it. Kyouraku noted silently to himself that Hitsugaya was also in the room, his reiatsu not feeling any stronger than it had three blocks out. It almost felt weaker.

Kira and Hisagi were the first ones to see the four shinigami enter the shouten. "Matsumoto-san!" They rushed to her side, taking in her injuries. "Tessai-san is in the back healing Hitsugaya-taicho, but I can see what I can do for her." Kira added as Kyouraku set her down on a mat.

"That would be good. Please do." Kira nodded and the eighth division captain strode over to where Ukitake stood by the open door to where Tessai was. "How is the young prodigy doing?"

"He looks to be doing a bit better than when I brought him here, but that's not really saying very much." He stole a glance through the door. "There's only so much that Tessai can do."

Kyouraku stepped forward and gazed past his old friend to see the small captain lying in front of Tessai. Tessai's hands were glowing with reiatsu as he held them above a nasty wound on the tenth division captain's chest. From what Kyouraku could tell, it was the only wound on his body. "So what exactly happened out there? That wound is too wide and shallow to be an injury from a sword."

"I think that the explanation would be better saved for a captain meeting."

"Eh? Why so?"

"It's a long story that I don't want to have to explain more than once."

Kyouraku looked down knowingly. "I'll let Yama-jii know that we're all coming back. Something tells me that Aizen won't be making his move any time soon."

"Yeah. It will be good to go back, as Hitsugaya-taicho will heal better there."

Kyouraku nodded and wandered over to Urahara, who was awkwardly trying to tend to his own wound, while Ukitake turned back to the open door to inform Tessai of the new plan.

Less than twenty minutes later, the Senkaimon was open, allowing the numerous shinigami to return to their own world. Hisagi carried Matsumoto, Yumichika was supporting Ikkaku once again and Ukitake was holding a certain white haired captain, wrapped in the thirteenth's haori again.

~Hueco Mundo~

~Aizen's Throne Room~

Aizen entered his throne room, the renewed Hogyoku rolling around in his hand. Looking down at it, he knew that all of his plans were within his reach. It would take another month for the second half to completely awaken, but Aizen figured that it would still be useable while still in its sleep-like state, much like the first half.

He sat down on his throne, put his right hand out over the floor and the Hogyoku's cylinder-shaped storage space emerged. Aizen tapped the top to open it and placed the Hogyoku at its center. That was when he heard Ichimaru enter the room.

"So, Aizen-sama, how soon are you going to test out your new toy?" The ever-smiling man asked once the door was closed tight behind him.

"Very soon, Gin. But first, there's something I'd like you to do for me."

"What might that be, Aizen-sama?"

"The shinigami here in Las Noches are getting rather pesky."

"Would you like me to kill them?"

"No, not yet. I might have a use for them in the near future. Just evict them back to their world for now. Then we'll get started here." Aizen said with a wave of his hand, turning his chair around to gaze off the balcony at the white sands that made up Hueco Mundo.

"Hai, Aizen-sama." With that, Ichimaru took his leave of his commander. He wove down corridor after corridor looking for some members of the Espada so they could make the gargantas with which to send the shinigami through. When he had finally come across enough of them, he told them where to go. He made sure that they knew not to kill the intruders, merely push them through a gate to get rid of them.

Injuring them wouldn't be killing them, so that would be alright too, so long as the shinigami were thrown out.

The four Espada nodded their agreement, departing at once to the locations of the shinigami captains. None were quite sure how they were going to force the shinigami out, but they had been given orders that needed to be followed, so they would find a way.

Soon, ten shinigami, a substitute shinigami, a Quincy and a human found themselves facing another Espada, though the Espada didn't seem to want to fuck around at all.

~Ichigo~

Ichigo, Kenpachi and Yachiru were confronted by the fourth Espada, Ulquiorra Ciffer. Although Ichigo was fully healed and able to fight, Kenpachi pushed past him in order to fight the Espada that was not looking for a fight.

As Kenpachi lunged at the Espada, Ulquiorra opened up a garganta right in front of himself and Kenpachi ended up running himself right into it. Yachiru yelled in surprise at his unexpected disappearance and ran in after him, leaving Ichigo to face the fourth Espada on his own.

Ichigo refrained from jumping at the Espada, knowing what had happened to Kenpachi when he had done so only a moment ago. Ulquiorra made no movement whatsoever to attack, only closed the portal through which the eleventh division captain and lieutenant had so suddenly gone through.

"Where the hell did you send them?!" Ichigo asked angrily as he took a few steps forward.

"I sent them back to where they came from." Ulquiorra responded dully.

"Where they came from? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Where do you think? Back to the human world."

"Why the hell did you do that?" Ichigo was now only two and a half metres from where the Cuatro Espada still remained motionless.

"I was ordered to."

Ichigo was shocked and his expression told Ulquiorra so. "Wh-why would they give you such an order?" He asked, still rather dumbfounded.

"Even if I had an answer to that, I would not tell you." Ulquiorra disappeared for a moment, a garganta opening up in his place. He reappeared behind Ichigo and, before the orange haired substitute could react, pushed him into the black hole.

Ichigo yelled out as he was sent home so suddenly. He couldn't come up with any reasons why Aizen would have made that order unless something had happened during that short time of Inoue's recapturing.

_Inoue!_ She had gradually become an after thought once she was back within his reach and even after she had been taken again, he had gone looking for her, but Kenpachi chasing him around was not a very fun thing to deal with. Especially when the jerk kept complaining that he (Ichigo) kept stealing all of the battles for himself.

Even then, Ichigo couldn't think of where Inoue was being hidden. He had looked all over the place as best as he could with Yachiru as his [horrible] guide, eventually landing them all back to the point where they had started from, only moments before Ulquiorra had shown up before them.

_I failed you, Inoue. I'm so sorry. I'll be back as soon as I'm able._ Ichigo thought as he landed hard on the pavement in his own city. Looking around, he saw everyone else scattered across the area. Some of them seemed just as shocked and confused as he was at their unforeseen rapid departure from the desert of hollows.

Soon, everyone dragged themselves to the Urahara Shouten to try to see if he understood why they had just been kicked out of Aizen's domain. When they got there, they were surprised at the damaged area. There was a burning building and a few damaged or destroyed buildings surrounding the shouten, showing signs of a very recent battle.

Ichigo was the first into the Urahara Shouten, noticing that there was no one on the street level floor. He found that the hatch leading to the underground training grounds was open, so he climbed down quickly, noticing that a Senkaimon was closing below.

Ichigo was followed by everyone else and the group converged around Urahara and Renji was the one who asked the previous twelfth division captain about what had occurred during their absence, among a few other questions.

Renji fired his questions rapid fire. "What happened here? Where are the shinigami who are supposed to be protecting the city? Why did we end up back here? What the hell is going on?" The red haired man seemed anxious.

"Now, now, Abarai-kun, I can only answer one question at a time." Urahara's expression grew dark as he chose which question to answer first. "Aizen was here."

That statement alone was enough to shock everyone. They had just been in the same location as Aizen, so his appearance in the World of the Living came as a surprise to the lot of them. "How is that possible?!" Many of them asked simultaneously.

"So he was the one who caused all of this damage." Ishida stated calmly.

"Exactly~!" Urahara exclaimed, flipping open his fan.

"So then where are the shinigami who were supposed to be protecting this place?" Sado asked.

Hat-and-clogs closed his fan. "They've gone back to the Soul Society."

"What for? Did something happen to them?"

Urahara sighed. "They were severely injured with Aizen's appearance and the battle that followed, so they have gone to get everyone healed back up."

"Then we should get going soon, too." Unohana spoke up, knowing that she would most definitely be needed.

"Yes, The gate will be opening in just a minute." Urahara added as he walked back in the direction from which he had come.

While Urahara worked on opening up the gate again, Unohana went to get more information from Tessai-san about the shinigami who had been injured. Ishida figured that it was time for him to leave and Sado soon followed suit, deciding to himself that Ichigo would inform him of the details later on.

Rukia, fully healed from her battle with 'Kaien,' wandered over to the depressed-looking Ichigo. He was sitting on a rock, watching Urahara as he prepared to open the gate a second time in less than an hour. Ichigo had such a sombre expression on his face that Rukia was afraid that talking to him was going to lessen his mood even more, but she had to at least try.

That was the least she could do for him.

When the small shinigami reached Ichigo, he looked up at her with that same, determined look in his eyes from when he had stopped the Sokyoku with his own zanpakuto.

He spoke first. "I'll save her. I'll get back into Las Noches and rescue Inoue." Ichigo's words were supported by his firm expression and the insane amount of resolve that was behind them.

"I know and I'll be right there beside you the whole time. We'll rescue Inoue and then we'll all come back here safely."

At that, Ichigo couldn't help but to laugh. Rukia was confused, so she hit him hard on the head.

"Why are you laughing?!" She demanded.

"I wasn't laughing at you, Rukia. What you just said reminded me of Renji's pact from before we headed off to the battlefield." He looked towards the red-head who was talking to Byakuya. "I guess it really did work then, huh?"

Rukia calmed. "Yeah. It would feel more like a victory if Inoue was here with us, though."

Ichigo was quiet for a moment. His next words were so quiet that Rukia had to strain herself to hear them properly. "I feel like...like I've failed her. She was right there in front of me and I just let that Arrancar come in and snatch her away. I feel like I should have tried harder to protect her."

"Ichigo..."

Suddenly, they all heard Urahara call out that the Senkaimon was finally ready for their passing. The shinigami assembled before the gate and readied themselves not only to go through it, but for what would await them on the other side. As the doors opened, everyone inched forward, finally entering as a whole.

Everyone knew that the gate would close after only four minutes, so they made their trip quick with only two and a half minutes in the Dangai. It was rare for so many shinigami with captain level reiatsu to be passing though the Dangai at one time, but that didn't seem to have much of an effect, if there was any at all.

They finally reached the other end of the Dangai and the doors opened, spilling its contents out into the Seireitei. The moment they stepped out of the Senkaimon, they could already see that they had been expected, as one member of the advance team and a captain were waiting for them.

Renji called out to them. "Kira, Kyouraku-taicho, what are you guys doing here?"

"We were waiting for Unohana-taicho. Hitsugaya-taicho is injured pretty badly and the fourth division members will require her assistance to treat him." Kira spoke in what seemed like a calm voice, but Renji could detect the slightest amount of quivering behind it.

"I understand. I'll head over there right now." Unohana announced and began to hurry towards the yon ban tai taisha, Isane and Hanatarou directly in tow.

"How did you guys know that we would be coming through the Senkaimon not too long after you did?" Ichigo asked, genuinely curious. He had seen the Senkaimon closing from the ladder in the Urahara Shouten, so his only idea was that the advanced team had sensed a bit of reiatsu right before their departure.

Kyouraku chose to answer that question. "From the little bits of information that I've pried out of Ukitake, I figured that Aizen was up to something and would not want any shinigami around. Therefore, the lot of you would be coming through the gate not too long after us."

"I see."

"So what happened?" Kenpachi surprised them by asking.

"That is to be saved for the Captain's Meeting, taking place in about ten minutes. Kurosaki-san, you should probably be there."

"What for?"

"With all that's been going on lately, it can't hurt for you to be directly informed of all the details. It will make it easier for everyone in the end." Kyouraku spoke his next sentence quietly. "You won't have to worry about any details being left out."

Ichigo nodded. "I'll be there."

~Yon Ban Tai~

When Unohana arrived back at her division, she found it in chaos. Yumichika and Ukitake-taicho were standing along one wall as shinigami scrambled all about the halls to heal those brought in from the battle. Yumichika seemed worried and Ukitake-taicho was missing his haori.

Unohana nodded to them and a look of glee passed through each man's eyes as any doubt that they felt a moment ago was forgotten. Now both were certain that their friend would end up making a full recovery.

Unohana snagged one of her members and soon discovered how dire the situation really was. Hitsugaya-taicho was in critical condition, Matsumoto-fukutaicho was stable, but injured badly and unconscious, Madarame-san seki was mildly injured, as well as Hisagi-fukutaicho.

Unohana sent Hanatarou to see what he could do for Hisagi-fukutaicho and deployed Isane to Matsumoto-fukutaicho's side. Unohana herself was going to go and try to see if she could do anything for Hitsugaya-taicho. With his critical status, she knew she would definitely be needed there.

When she reached Hitsugaya-taicho's room, she was greeted by even more chaos. The tenth division captain had a wound on his chest about eight centimetres in every direction that wouldn't stop bleeding. The shinigami who were trying to heal him couldn't make the bleeding stop, much less close the wound.

Unohana immediately set to work. It was going to be a long day.

~Captain Meeting~

Ichigo had been told to stand next to Ukitake for the meeting. He was shocked that there were only eight captains total at the meeting. By process of elimination, Ichigo determined that it was the captains of fourth and tenth that were absent.

_Toushiro..._

Yamamoto-soutaicho began to speak. "I have called this meeting because the situation has worsened. Today at approximately one forty five, Aizen Sousuke invaded the World of the Living.

"Ukitake-taicho, would you please inform us as to what happened today during that invasion?" The head captain's question was hardly that. It was more of an offer that could not be refused.

"Hai. By the time Kyouraku-taicho and I reached the World of the Living, the battles were already well under way. Due to the state of their battles at that time, I had gone to confront Aizen whilst Kyouraku-taicho went to fight with one of the Espada." Ukitake paused, foreshadowing that the worst was yet to come. "Upon my arrival at Aizen's location, I found that he was explaining that Hitsugaya-taicho had one half of the Hogyoku sealed within his soul."

Ichigo and a number of the captains openly showed their shock at the news. Tentatively, Ichigo asked, "The Hogyoku? But wasn't that thing in Rukia's soul?"

Ukitake glanced at Ichigo for only an instant. "It was, but from what I've been told, the Hogyoku was split and one half was hidden in Kuchiki-san, the other inside Sokyoku Hill. When Aizen found it, he implanted it in a soul--Hitsugaya-taicho."

The room was eerily silent. No one seemed to want to interrupt now. To Ichigo, the whole ordeal almost felt like a horror story come to life in the worst way imaginable. Like a nightmare that he just couldn't seem to wake up from.

Ukitake continued. "After giving us that little tidbit of information," he stated, "Aizen took the Hogyoku from Hitsugaya-taicho's soul. It was not the same way in which he had obtained the first; in fact, it seemed to rely on it in order to regain the second."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The way that Aizen got the Hogyoku out of Kuchiki-san was that tool that did not damage the soul. After he used it back then, it had fallen to the ground, so Aizen no longer had it. That being said, for Hitsugaya-taicho, Aizen used the first half to attract the second and extract itself from him. I didn't understand it very much, so I asked Urahara Kisuke-san for more details. He said that the Hogyoku is similar to a magnet. When you bring two near each other, they attract one another and get attached."

That made sense to everyone and Ukitake was able to finish his first-hand account without any further interruptions. "After Aizen had the Hogyoku in his possession, Aizen and his underlings fled the battlefield."

"That would explain why Aizen sent us out of Hueco Mundo." Byakuya stated.

"Actually, that is what doesn't make sense to me. The first half of the Hogyoku has the power to give shinigami powers to hollows. The second half gives hollow powers to shinigami. If Aizen had so many shinigami within his grasp, I don't understand why he got rid of them." Ukitake countered.

"I think he has a more complicated plan than we could ever imagine. It's best if we just anticipate anything and everything until something happens." Kyouraku reasoned with an insight that no one in the room, except perhaps Yamamoto-soutaicho, could rival.

Silence filled the room once more as everyone tried to take in all of the details with an open mind. If they couldn't figure out Aizen's plans before they were too far set into motion, the Soul Society and everyone in it would be doomed.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

* * *

**Translations:**

**Sokyoku Hill** - A place where criminals are executed.

**Konpaku** - Soul

**Rukongai** - The area surrounding the Seireitei. This is where most souls live. The first district where Hitsugaya and Hinamori grew up is called Junrin'an.

**Negaccion** - A light that hollows use to rescue each other.

**Haori** - The white coat that captains wear.

**Momoiro** - Pink

**Kuro** - Black

**Shiro** - White

**Yokata** - That's great/ I'm glad. (Not too sure on that translation)

**Garganta** - The gate to Hueco Mundo

**Cuatro** - Four (In Spanish)

**Sokyoku** - Tool used to execute Shinigami. Said to possess the power of one million zanpakuto.

**Dangai** - The area between the Soul Society and The World of the Living.

**Yon** **Ban** **Tai** **[Taisha]** - Fourth Division [Barracks]

**San** **Seki** - Third seat

* * *

So, beginning next chapter is when the storyline will really begin to change, therefore my update pattern (what pattern?) will probably change. Despite the fact that I've already begun to work on it, I'm trying to console my two friends who lost their father over this past weekend. Death is a terrible thing when you're old enough to know what's going on but too young to have expected it.

Anyway, **review** please~! I keep seeing all those alerts and favourites, but not too many reviews yet. I'll love you for life if you review~!!!

(These chapters just keep getting longer and longer~! (And now that I've said that, they will now begin to decrease in length.))


	4. Chapter 4

Ah! I missed the November deadline! Oh man, I can't believe it. I just can't. I was so far into it at the beginning of the month, then took a week-long break from it to draw some stuff, then I couldn't get back into the feel of writing. I actually only finished writing this out on paper on December 9, during my Spanish I class, I believe.

Disclaimer: What would make you think I own Bleach?

Bleach: The Second Hogyoku

By Kouzumi93

Chapter Four

The next few days were a blur for most. Hitsugaya's condition had improved to stable, but Unohana stated that he was in a coma and she couldn't tell how long he was going to remain that way. Hinamori would visit him every day, doing for him what he hadn't done for her in their reversed roles: she talked to him.

Matsumoto awoke the day after the battle, asking about her captain the moment she was given the chance. Everyone had been instructed not to tell her the extent or severity of his injuries or even the fact that he was in a coma, as Unohana did not want the lieutenant to fret and neglect herself while she was still healing.

Ikkaku, Kira and Hisagi had been discharged after only three days, having healed rather quickly. Kira and Hisagi visited Matsumoto frequently, calming her worries and telling her to focus on getting better before anything else. They had actually even tried to sneak some sake in to her, but they got caught red-handed and were reprimanded.

Ichigo had gone home the evening after the captain's meeting, telling them that he was going to talk to Urahara and see if he couldn't get any more information off of him. He was sure that there was something that the shady shopkeeper wasn't telling them, he just wasn't sure what it was.

The gloom that hung like fog over the Seireitei was unbearable for most and would only get worse with time.

* * *

Exactly one week after the event in the World of the Living, another event happened in the Seireitei, one that was unpredicted, unseen and unprepared for.

The day began just like all of the other days. Paperwork was done and duties were neglected. The tenth division was trying to pull itself back together with the hospitalization of their commanding officers. A few of the other divisions had stepped up to give as much help as they possibly could and soon there after, the division was at least running smoothly again.

In fact, if one would have entered the Seireitei around this time, it may have seemed normal. One afternoon around one o'clock, the normalcy would be shattered, possibly beyond quick repairs.

Hinamori was leaving the Fourth Division after her 'Daily Hitsugaya-kun Visit' when she sensed something behind her. She spun around, her hand already on Tobiume's hilt, but there was nothing there.

_Am I going crazy? I know there was something there!_

The bushes behind her began to rustle. Hinamori drew Tobiume quicker than she ever had before. "Dare da?" She called out, but received only more rustling as her answer. A gap opened up between the leaves and out stepped something that she had not been expecting.

A cat.

Hinamori sighed as she sheathed Tobiume, stepping closer to the feline. "Here, kitty, kitty. Are you lost?" As she stroked the cat's back it purred wildly, glad for the attention it was receiving. Suddenly, it seemed to see something behind her that scared it, as its back arched and it hissed, dashing away from her in a flash.

"Eh? What did I do?" She asked to the cat that was no longer in sight.

A moment later, a cold, heavy hand clamped down upon her right shoulder. "Long time no see, Hinamori-chan." Hinamori turned her head to the side to look into the ever-squinting eyes of a traitor.

"Ichimaru Gin!" Hinamori pulled out of his grasp, shocked at his sudden appearance. Her hand grazed Tobiume's hilt yet again. "What do you want?" She hissed.

"Aizen-sama wants to speak with you. I was not informed of all of the details, but I suppose he feels bad for all that he's done and he'd like to make it up to you. What do you say? Would you like to come to Las Noches?"

There was a long pause as Hinamori thought about her response. "I..."

~Fourth Division~

~Matsumoto's Room~

Matsumoto was beginning to understand why it was that her captain would always break out of the Fourth Division when he was injured or sick. It was so quiet and white that one could easily go insane after only a short period of time. It had been a week since she had awoken and the lack of information regarding her captain was not doing much to help lift her spirits, either.

She sighed, staring out the window at the blue skies beyond it. She wanted nothing more than to be out in the fresh air with her friends, but instead, she was cooped up in what could have passed as an infirmary in a jail.

_I need to get the hell out of here._ With that thought in mind, Matsumoto pushed off the stark white blankets and put her shihakushou on. As she dressed, she decided that she probably wouldn't be able to get too far away if she tried to walk through the halls -she'd probably get lost or caught- so the window was her only option.

In less than six minutes, Matsumoto was safely away from the unbearable whiteness of the Fourth. Looking around, she realized that she didn't know where she was, but her determination for temporary freedom refused to let that get in her way.

After a moment of walking slowly, she felt a pair of familiar reiatsu on the other side of a building to her right. She leapt to the roof and peered over the side to see who the two were, as they seemed distorted and she couldn't quite place them. One was in black, the other in white, one with dark hair tied in a bun, one with short silver hair.

_Gin!_ She realized immediately.

Hinamori had just stood up as she watched a cat tear off quickly. Ichimaru was standing behind the girl, not moving or saying anything. Matsumoto wanted to call out a warning, but something told her to wait and let it play out for a moment longer.

Ichimaru put his hand on Hinamori's shoulder and after a brief pause, the girl spun and spat something out angrily. Matsumoto's childhood friend began talking quietly, but Matsumoto couldn't make out any of the words he spoke.

_Gin...what are you doing here?_

While Ichimaru spoke, Hinamori's expression calmed and almost looked peaceful, causing Matsumoto to guess that he was telling her something that he knew she would want to hear, just to get something he wanted.

_What do you want from her?_

Matsumoto knew that the only thing she could do was to send a message to the closest captain and have them send backup. Being sure never to take her eyes off of the two in the street, she created a jigokuchou, gave it a message and sent it off.

_I just hope this will be enough._

~Yon Ban Tai~

~Unohana's Office~

Unohana sensed that Matsumoto was leaving the yon ban tai taisha, so she sent Isane out to follow her for a while. If Matsumoto would try to do anything that she shouldn't, Isane was to bring her back to the division immediately.

Only ten minutes after Matsumoto's 'escape,' a jigokuchou made its way into her office. It floated right to her and landed on her shoulder and Matsumoto's distress message was quickly relayed.

_Unohana-taicho! Ichimaru Gin has appeared in the Seireitei and is confronting Hinamori Momo. At my distance, I can not hear their conversation, but I am afraid that it can not be a very good one. In my weakened condition, I do not believe that there is very much that I can do, so please come quickly!_

The butterfly disappeared and Unohana calmly stood up from her desk. She picked up Minatzuki and left her office, no intention to fight, merely capture the traitor and question him beyond all reason.

~Matsumoto~

A moment after the jigokuchou had left, a figure moved up next to Matsumoto on the rooftop. She turned her head slightly to see that it was Kotetsu Isane, the lieutenant of the fourth division. Isane looked to her and their eyes locked for a moment before both women looked back to the scene that was taking place not too far away.

Nothing seemed to be happening. Hinamori was standing there, looking elated at something that had been said. Isane and Matsumoto could only conclude that Ichimaru had said something to her -an obvious lie, of course- and something bad was going to happen.

Just then, a garganta opened up right behind Ichimaru. The gate obstructed the two women's views of the area below, so neither of them would be able to know that was happening. It was that exact moment that Unohana-taicho appeared just to the right side of the gate, facing it but looking at Ichimaru.

Things were just beginning to get interesting.

~Hinamori~

"What do you say? Would you like to come to Las Noches?"

Finally, Hinamori answered carefully. "I...I don't know..."

"You should probably decide quickly." Ichimaru snapped his fingers together and a garganta formed behind him. "I don't thing this gate is going to wait for too much longer, Hinamori-chan."

Hinamori stared into the endless black abyss that led to the world of the Hollows. The portal that would take her to her beloved captain. She tried to think of reasons to go and reasons to stay, but she could think of nothing that really outweighed the other. She was stuck: Hitsugaya or Aizen.

"Have you decided yet, Hinamori-chan?" Ichimaru asked again, not really having much intention to let her make her own decision.

"I..."

Just as Hinamori was about to complete the response that she kept getting stuck on, she was interrupted by Unohana's arrival.

"Ichimaru Gin, what is your business here?" The fourth division captain asked as she slowly approached the traitor and the current fifth division lieutenant.

"Ah, Unohana-taicho, you arrived much earlier than I anticipated. This ain't good." Ichimaru grabbed Hinamori's wrist. "I guess I'll get going before this gets too out of hand." Pulling Hinamori with him, Ichimaru dove into the awaiting garganta.

Unohana didn't make much of a move to stop the former captain, but she was surprised at his aggressive kidnapping of the fifth division lieutenant. Once the garganta had closed itself, Unohana looked up at the roof where Matsumoto and Isane were still crouching.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho, Isane, you can come out now."

Immediately following that statement, the two lieutenants stood up and jumped down from their perch. Isane went right over to her captain while Matsumoto only stared longingly at the place where Ichimaru had been standing only moments earlier.

"For now, I think it would be best if neither of you mentioned this event to anyone else. I'll speak with Yamamoto-soutaicho and see what needs to be done. Is that understood?"

"Hai, Unohana-taicho." Isane replied as she turned to see Matsumoto's downcast form. "I'll escort Matsumoto back to the barracks."

"Alright. I'll see you in a little while, then." Unohana said as she took her leave of the two younger shinigami.

After Unohana left, Isane carefully approached Matsumoto, touching her on the shoulder in an attempt at comforting her. "Come along, Matsumoto-san. Let's get you back to your room."

The tenth division lieutenant nodded lightly and Isane guided her back to the fourth division. Once they arrived, Isane took Matsumoto right to her room. The tenth division lieutenant had not spoken a word during the entire trip, but Isane was sure that she couldn't blame her. She had been through so much in the past week, what with not knowing about her captain's condition and all of the problems with Ichimaru.

Isane left Matsumoto's room quickly and made her way across the division to Hitsugaya's room. The small captain still had not woken up, but his condition did seem to be improving a little bit each day. Unohana had said that under normal circumstances, he would probably be waking up soon, but the shock of finding out about the Hogyoku might be holding the boy back from consciousness as he questioned and studied his past.

When Isane had left Matsumoto's room, she had a feeling that she was going to be followed for a while. She knew that she shouldn't let Matsumoto follow her to Hitsugaya's room, but the strawberry-blonde haired woman desperately needed some peace of mind and Isane didn't want to deprive her of it.

As she arrived at the door to the young captain's room, she turned to where Matsumoto was concealing herself around the corner. "Matsumoto-san, I know you're there, and I know that this is why you followed me." She motioned to the door to her right.

Matsumoto stepped out of hiding. "So you knew I was there, then?"

"Yes. I know you've been wanting to see him, and you seem so depressed right now, so I'll let you in." Isane paused. "I hope you don't feel even worse after this." Isane took a step back to allow Matsumoto to enter the room.

"Thank you, Isane."

Matsumoto cautiously entered the room and her eyes fell upon the form on the bed in the centre of the room. She was horrified at how vulnerable and lifeless her captain looked as he lay there unmoving. Never before in her life had she seen him so helpless and she couldn't help but to put some of the blame upon herself for letting herself be dragged away by Ichimaru.

She took another step into the room. "...Taicho..." She whispered almost inaudibly.

The busty lieutenant continued to advance slowly upon her captain's bed, stopping once he was within her arm's reach. The machines hooked up to him continuously beeped, but Matsumoto paid them no mind. What had caught her attention was the look and colour of his face. His expression seemed to be locked in place and was somewhere between sheer torture and peace and his skin was nearly as pale as his hair, which had also lost its usual glow.

Now Matsumoto herself felt helpless. She couldn't do anything to help his condition and there wasn't much that she would be able to do for revenge. His wounds had most definitely been dealt by Aizen himself, whom Matsumoto would stand no chance against. Hell, she hadn't even stood much of a chance against a fraction of Ichimaru's strength, and he was probably weaker than Aizen.

_I'm so useless._

Matsumoto reached out to touch her captain's hand, but recoiled upon contact. _He's so cold..._She turned to the shinigami waiting at the door whom she was grateful to beyond all reason. "How long will he be like this?" She asked desperately.

The other woman sighed mentally, having known that they would have to explain this eventually. "We're not entirely sure. While his condition is improving regarding his injury, we're not sure how he is mentally at this moment."

"Mentally?"

"Yes. I would explain, but I think this is something Unohana-taicho wanted to speak with you about. That, and you need some rest after all that's happened today." Isane approached Matsumoto. "Now let's get you back to your room."

Matsumoto was silent as she gave one last look at her sleeping captain. "Yeah. Thank you again, Isane."

Isane nodded an acknowledgement and the two made their way back across the compound.

~Captain Meeting~

Seven captains filed into the meeting room on the First Division to find that Unohana and the Soutaicho already there and waiting. Everyone took their positions and Yamamoto banged his staff on the ground, signalling the start of the meeting.

"It appears as if Aizen Sousuke has begun to make his move. Approximately one hour ago, Ichimaru Gin appeared before go ban tai fukutaicho, Hinamori Momo, and we believe him to have asked her to join him in Hueco Mundo. Upon the arrival of yon ban tai taicho, Unohana Retsu, the traitor took Hinamori-fukutaicho and fled the Seireitei.

"While Aizen's motives still remain a mystery to us, we do not think this is over yet. We believe that in the coming weeks, more shinigami will end up being taken, most likely those who are higher up on our hierarchy. All of you are to keep a close eye on your high-ranking officers and be alert for any reiatsu that seems out of place."

Various thoughts ran through each captain's mind. Soifon wished they would free her of her lieutenant, but figured he was too stupid and useless for them to want him. Kenpachi was bored and wanted the meeting to end, although the possibility of getting to fight soon made him excited. Mayuri thought of all of the wonderful experiments he could run on the traitors if he found them first, deciding that he would make them turn to pulp before handing them over. Komamura contemplated all of the wrong that Tousen had done and how he only wanted to bring him back onto the path of justice before he was too far gone.

"If anything occurs, you are to immediately report it to me. I will then notify the rest of you about the change in the situation, rather than calling a meeting for every single incident. That is all. You are dismissed." Yamamoto rapped his cane on the floor once more to end the gathering.

The captains exited the room as quietly and quickly as they had entered, some with perplexed looks upon their faces as they tried to work out the kinks in the ideas they had about Aizen's plans. Didn't want to believe what they were thinking.

Ukitake and Kyouraku went to Unohana immediately for more inside information. Unohana had expected this and she led them to her division where they would be able to talk in private better.

The three captains entered Unohana's office and shut the door tightly behind them. The fourth division captain sat behind her desk as her two companions sat in the two armchairs that were tilted to face the desk at an angle.

Kyouraku was the first to speak. "I think there's more to this story than we know. We figure that he's going to use the Hogyoku on Hinamori-chan, but his true motives are still clouded thickly..." His voice trailed off, his thoughts dragging him into one of his ideas. "How is Hitsugaya-taicho doing?"

"His condition has improved greatly, but I do not believe he will be waking up for a little while."

"A little while being how long?"

"It's hard to say. It could be another week or a month. Maybe longer. We can't tell how he is reacting mentally to the ordeal, so it's all really up to him."

"I suppose that is a good thing. With him caring so much for Hinamori-fukutaicho so much, I don' think her kidnapping would do too well for his recovery." Ukitake added with a sigh.

"I agree. Upon his awakening, it should be kept quiet until I think he can handle it. When that time comes, I will tell him carefully myself." Unohana decided.

"Somehow, I'm not sure that breaking it to him carefully will work as well as we plan. With his personality, I'm sure he'll take it as if we're trying to treat him like a child. But if we were to be blunt with him, that might not turn out well either." Kyouraku thought out loud.

"So, regarding that matter, we're back to square one." Ukitake noted.

"Perhaps we should discuss this at a later date when there is more information available." Unohana stood from her seat, her chair making a scratching sound as it was pushed back.

"Agreed." The other two captains followed suit and thereafter emptied the room of their presence.

~Hueco Mundo~

Hinamori gazed around the room she had been placed in. She wouldn't call it a cell, since it felt too homey and comfortable to be so, but there were bars on the high window that she couldn't dream of reaching and the door was surely locked so she couldn't escape too far.

Escape.

So inappropriate for the situation. What the hell could she do? Tobiume was taken from her. Where could she go? It wasn't like she could just make a garganta to get herself to the World of the Living. The actual desert land of Hueco Mundo was out of the question as well. She would just be found or eaten out there. She wouldn't even last a week.

Escape.

Wheels began to turn in Hinamori's mind. She couldn't get away, but she could live long enough for the war to end so she could go home. _All I have to do is pretend to be my ignorant self and pretend to give in to Aizen-taicho again. That should keep me around for a while._

Unless they were to find out.

Just then, Hinamori heard the lock turning and the door opened, revealing a busty, dark-skinned Arrancar. _No, Espada._ Her blonde hair was cut short except for three longer sections that were bound with beads. Her uniform consisted of a white top that could barely cover the largest part of her assets and a pair of white hakama pants belted at her hips with a large black sash. The woman's nose and mouth were concealed behind the high collar of her jacket and her green eyes peered out from just over it.

The Espada seemed to be a very calm person, as her entrance was quiet and she didn't look like she wanted to kill Hinamori just by looking at her once. After a short moment of silence, she spoke in a voice lower than Hinamori had expected. "You are to come with me. Aizen-sama requests your presence."

Hinamori nodded and stood up from the sofa where she had been sitting. She followed the Arrancar out of the room and down various stark white hallways. Hinamori paid very careful attention to the path and the surroundings, just in case she would need it at some point.

After only two minutes, they came to a large, imposing door. Harribel knocked politely and someone gave them permission to enter. The female Arrancar pushed open the door and walked in, Hinamori just a few steps behind. Once they were in, the doors slowly closed, leaving Hinamori with no where to run.

The room was dimly lit, but Hinamori could see him clearly. Saw him sitting in his throne at the centre of the room. Saw him looking right at her, his soft gaze and warm smile the same as they always had been.

So kind. So caring. So warm.

And that's what sent every ounce of Hinamori's planning to the dogs.

Just looking at him made her want to be so loyal to him all over again. Be his lieutenant and follow him to the ends of the earth, maybe even beyond that. The scar on her chest dealt by him was now long forgotten as her eyes watered and she stepped closer and closer to him.

Just like that day.

"Welcome, Hinamori-kun, to my palace, Las Noches." He waved his arm out in front of him, gesturing at the walls all around them. "Are you enjoying your time here so far?"

_As long as I'm here with you, I'll be happy._ Hinamori thought to herself, not confident enough to voice it to anyone else.

"Oh yes, Aizen-taicho. It's astounding that you were able to build such a large place in only a short amount of time." Hinamori replied, suddenly fascinated in the structure that she had been in for a while now.

"This palace was built long before I left you, Hinamori-kun."

"Hontou ka?" She continued to admire the room. Or at least, as much of it as she could see. "That's so incredible, Aizen-taicho!"

Aizen smiled. "Please, Hinamori-kun, call me Aizen-sama. With you calling me Aizen-taicho, I feel as if I'm still part of that retched Seireitei."

"Ah! I'm so sorry, Aizen-tai--sama." Hinamori blushed at having almost messed up.

"Iidesune." Aizen then stood up from the strangely shaped white chair and moved to the right of it. Placing a hand out over the ground, a cylinder shaped structure emerged straight up from the floor, stopping right below his hand. Tapping it open, he reached into it and Hinamori watched, fascinated, as he pulled out a spherical object.

"Aizen-sama, is that...the Hogyoku?" She asked, only slightly worried. Tobiume tried to warn her that Aizen was going to use it on her, but she wasn't listening. Couldn't believe that he would do something like that.

"Ah, so you know what this is, then?"

"Hai. I was told that it was an object that you attained from Kuchiki-san." Hinamori also had not been told of the circumstances behind Hitsugaya's injuries.

"Yes, but do you know what it can do?"

"No, but I'm sure it must be very powerful for you to have wanted it, Aizen-sama."

Aizen took a few steps closer to his previous lieutenant. Hinamori involuntarily took a step back, slightly afraid of whatever the Hogyoku would do. She knew it was dangerous. And yet she trusted Aizen to be good to her.

He was standing in front of her now, holding the purple thing in his right hand. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have the powers of a hollow, Hinamori-kun?"

"No, of course not. I never thought that it was possible."

"This tool makes it possible."

With that, there was a bright flash of light as Aizen touched the Hogyoku to Hinamori's forehead. When the light subsided, one could see that Hinamori had collapsed to the floor and Aizen stood over her with a solemn look on his face.

Saving his grins for when there were no subordinates around.

"Harribel, please take Hinamori-kun back to her room."

The Espada, who had stayed silent and in the shadows until this point, nodded and stepped forward, picking the small girl up and taking her away. She closed the door behind her and that was when Aizen's wicked smile broke out.

This was only the beginning.

~Hinamori's room~

Hinamori had only been half aware that she was carried out of the throne room and put back into the locked room from earlier in the day. The pain she felt in her head was tremendous but she didn't know where it had come from. The last thing she remembered was Aizen saying something about becoming a hollow, and the next thing she knew, she was in her inner world.

In her inner world, staring at someone who looked just like her, but had not an ounce of colour on her at all. White hair, black eyes, white Shihakushou, black cloth over her bun.

She looked like a negative of a photo.

"Hello Momo." The opposite-like girl said with a terrifying grin that made Momo want to shiver.

"Who are you?" Hinamori asked, taking a mental note that Tobiume was no where in sight.

"Me? I have no name, but I suppose you could call me Kyuuri."

"Kyuuri? How did you get here?"

Kyuuri looked perplexed and tilted her head to the side. "How? Through the Hogyoku. I, Momo, am your inner hollow."

_Be prepared to be taken over, Oh Sweet, Sweet, Peachy Momo. Your days are numbered. And the largest number is a very small one, I assure you._

And Kyuuri began to laugh. Not a kind, gentle laugh like Momo had, but a shrill, maniacal laugh that really did make Momo shiver and her skin crawl. Made her want to cut off her ears and listen no longer.

_Aizen-sama, what have you done to me? I thought over and over again that you had saved me from the Seireitei. That my coming here was best for my well being, yet now I find myself confronted with this...thing! This hollow!_

_Why, Aizen-sama?_

_Why?_

After that, everything seemed to go black.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Dare da **- Who's there?

**Shihakushou** - The shinigami uniform

**Jigokuchou** - Hell Butterfly

**Go ban tai fukutaicho **- Fifth Division Lieutenant

**Yon ban tai taicho **- Fourth Division Captain

**Hontou Ka **- Really?

**Iidesune** - It's fine. (Not too sure on the spelling or accuracy, but it's not in my dictionary and I recall hearing it a lot with that translation.)

**Kyuuri** - Cucumber (Chose this for Hinamori cause Momo means 'peach' and I couldn't think of what the opposite was. So we chose this.)

* * *

I am _**so**_ sorry that this got pushed into January. It probably would have gotten even later, but I had a sudden spur-of-the-moment inspiration for modifying the ending of this chapter and the end of the story, so I figured that I'd better get back to work. I'll try to make all of this lateness up to you sometime!

Part of the second to last scene of this chapter was loosely based on a song called 'The Highest Cost' by Son of Rust. I initially had a completely different plan (and actually wrote it all out (I was going to let Hinamori keep up her façade the whole time with Aizen)), but I was listening to the song and, at first, tried to relate it to Hitsugaya and Hinamori, but later decided that it fit better with Hinamori and Aizen. I hope you liked this scenario better. (Basically: I don't like Hinamori much and the other scenario made her seem strong willed and I don't really think she is.)

Review please! Reviews to me are like butterscotch pudding is to my friend Karalea (AKA Puddinmasta): without them, I go crazy. XD (Advice: Never steal someone's pudding. They might try to kill you. Then bring you back and kill you again. (Courtesy of Karalea after myself and another friend took her pudding and hid it from her.)


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